ABSTRACT
The place of religion in early childhood education and care curriculum documents at both the federal and state levels in Australia is at best ambiguous, and at worst silenced. Further, this ambiguity is increased and made more complex by the misalignment between the federally mandated curriculum document, Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, and the state of Queensland’s early childhood education curriculum document, Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline. The former makes several references to children’s spirituality and its role in their holistic development and well-being, whereas the latter remains silent on children’s spirituality. Religion, while not explicitly referred to in either document, is ambiguously referred to in various constructions including children’s spirituality, the spiritual aspects of their holistic development and learning, cultural competence and respect for diversity. Spirituality can play pivotal roles in children’s religiosity, as well as in their understanding and acceptance of the place of religion in contemporary multicultural societies. This chapter interrogates the misalignment between the two curriculum documents and then examines the implications such misalignment poses for the place of religion in early childhood education.
